IntelliMoveTake the quiz →Living in Cresco, IA
Cresco is a small town of 3,908 people in Howard County, Iowa. It's about 48 miles from Rochester, MN and 124 miles from Minneapolis, MN, the nearest major city. Summer highs average 83°F and winter highs 24°F, with about 40 inches of snow a year. The typical home is valued around $117k and rent runs about $715 a month.
3,908people
$117kTypical home
$715/moRent
83° / 24°Summer / winter
40"Snow
230Sunny days
115Rain/snow days
Is Cresco right for you?
Take the 5-minute quiz and see your match — and how it stacks up against 34,000 other places.
Size & setting
- Small town of 3,908
- A standalone small town, not a suburb
- About 1,170 people per sq mi
- 124 mi to Minneapolis, MN
- 48 mi to Rochester, MN
- 48 mi to the nearest town of 10k+
Money
- Typical home $117k (≈$739/mo)
- Median rent $715/mo
- Median household income $61k
- Property tax about 1.8% of value
- 1.0% unemployment
Weather
- Summer highs around 83°F
- Winter highs around 24°F
- Somewhat humid summers (dew point 61°F)
- 230 sunny days a year (77 totally clear)
- 135 cloudy days a year
- 41 of 90 winter days are gray
- 115 days a year with rain or snow
- 40" of snow a year
- 15 days a year with 1"+ of snow
- Rarely hits 100°F
- 54 nights a year below 10°F
- Windier than most places
Safety
- Very low violent crime (177 per 100k)
- Very low property crime (240 per 100k)
People
- Median age 39
- 31% of households have kids
- 21% are 65 or older
- 21% have a college degree
- Not very diverse
- 2% of residents are college students
Getting around & homes
- Average commute 19 min
- 3% walk or take transit to work
- 42 mi to RST airport
- 118 mi to MSP (major hub)
- 119 mi to the nearest Amtrak station
- 87% single-family homes
- Typical home built around 1962
- 92% of homes have broadband
Outdoors
- Flat, open land
- Elevation 1,306 ft
- 741 mi to the ocean
- 110 mi to a big lake
- 49 mi to the nearest trailhead
- 53 mi to the nearest ski area
- Campground in town
- 15 golf courses within 25 mi
Things to do
- 31 sit-down restaurants within 25 mi
- 12 bars within 25 mi
- 6 coffee shops within 25 mi
- No music venues & clubs within 25 mi
- 13 museums within 25 mi
- 2 breweries & distilleries within 25 mi
- 14 mi to the nearest farmers market
Everyday
- Schools in the top 47% of Iowa districts (reading)
- Grocery store in town
- 1 mi to the nearest ER hospital
- 43 mi to a 4–5★ hospital
- 14 mi to the nearest vet
- 26 mi to the nearest dog park
- 16 congregations per 10k people
- 40 mi to the nearest college
Politics
- Howard County: R+32 in 2024
- Iowa: R+13 in 2024
Natural hazards
- Very low hurricane risk
- High tornado risk
- Very low wildfire risk
- Very low earthquake risk
- Low flood risk
- Low drought risk
- High winter storm risk
- Low heat wave risk
- Very low volcano risk